A Picture
by Song of Azure Moon
Summary: One-Shot/AU: Ace quietly looks over a picture he drew a long time ago. A world where Luffy died during the War of Marineford.


Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, and I can think of several good reasons why I shouldn't.

Warning: Alcohol and an instance of swearing.

A/N: This one-shot was born after repeatedly listening to a recently released rock ballad. The initial writing didn't take long which could be seen in the draft. Special thanks to HeroR who agreed to beta this. You certainly live up to your pen name. If you readers have time, I recommend checking out his/her stories too.

Read and enjoy.

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Ace stared at the worn piece of paper in front of him. The room was dimly lit but a lantern on the table provided more than enough light to see what was needed. It was enough for him. The paper itself was slightly wet in the middle but the picture remained clear as it had ever been. Ace, however, hadn't had enough to drink yet, and took another sip from the unlabeled rum-bottle. It was only another link in the chain of several. A couple of bottles were on the floor underneath his stool. Their contents had already been emptied several moments ago, and now they only served to clutter the floor.

"_So much for the good days"_, Ace muttered quietly.

Another sip followed the whisper, and guilt took another dose of water to its flames. Many more would have to follow to even temporarily douse the roaring inferno. It would still be for naught, no amount of alcohol was enough for this. Ace left his eyes wander along the lines in the picture taking in the small details that he had carefully drawn. The lines of ink were finely laid out and created a perfect sum, the result of several hours of constant drawing.

Marco had once asked him about the significance of the picture in question. The answer had been an ominous smile and a statement of finding it out eventually. Or, whenever he felt like opening and telling. Maybe? You never knew after all. Now, Ace couldn't help but to wonder the question and what the answer even had been back then. Was it just a little tribute for his brothers, or the result of an artistic whim, he no longer knew. He didn't even want to know, really. For now he just wanted a different answer to hide behind.

Ace's finger followed his eyes on the lines, drawing the shape of a young boy with a top hat on the left side of the paper. A long staff was held in his free had. The boy grinned in happiness of the moment and his eyes were closed. He had something he had always wanted, and would never give it up, come Hell or high water. Ace took another gulp. 'For Sabo' he assured himself, but knew he was lying. He just wanted something to ease the constant pain and erase the bad memories of Marineford.

"_Damn you."_

Ace relinquished the bottle and put it on the table next to the lantern. His hold was slipping and he didn't want to ruin the picture. It wasn't exactly any kind of last link to his brothers, but it held something that he could never regain.

The hand pushed the fingers along the lines on the right side of the paper. A smaller boy than the other two was in mid-air with a bright grin on his face. He had a worn strawhat on his head that early covered the boy's eyes with the difference in size. His free hand was waving to whoever looked at the picture and the three boys.

While the hand was tracing the rightmost boy, Ace's eyes momentarily looked at the boy in the middle of the trio. He had his eyes open, but he was smiling. Even if it seemed slightly forced. His eyes also seemed a bit unsure of what to make of the situation. The boy was happy, but confused about the feeling. Ace wasn't sure why he had chosen to draw himself like that. Perhaps there was something he had forgotten during his life. Perhaps it was his fears which inspired that part.

Suddenly the lantern went out from lack of fuel. Complete darkness fell over the room as the last source of light went out. Ace tried to reach the lantern, but his drunk flailing only served to drop the bottle from the table. As the bottle broke on the floor, a strange feeling overcame him. Being a flame man, Ace hadn't felt cold for a long time, but now something freezing was caressing him. He couldn't accurately describe the feeling, only that it was cold.

Ace suddenly felt the urge to look at the picture in the darkness. He couldn't see anything but he stared at the table. Had someone actually seen the drawing they would have described how the people on the sides had their other arms behind the boy in the middle. And the boy in the middle was holding his friends, his brothers, the same way. Whether it was the shadow or something else, the boy seemed to be the happiest of the trio. Such thing could only be seen in the shadows, where the truth comes forth. None could say if that was deliberate on Ace's part, or if he even knew about it.

However, Ace didn't see it, instead focusing on the sudden cold. He was confused by the feeling and put his hands on his shoulders to rub himself warm. He didn't even think about just using his powers for it didn't feel right.

He didn't do it, instead clutching something invisible on his shoulders. The cold disappeared and warmth overtook him. Shadows played beside him, and glimpses of two male figures could be briefly spotted.

Ace closed his eyes and grinned weakly, and the boy in the picture watched him with his usual smile.

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A/N: I hope you enjoyed this fic, my dear readers. I'll answer any questions through personal messages. Of course, if you haven't allowed private messages, there isn't much I can do to satisfy your possible curiosity.


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